LIFELONG Tallegalla resident, Tom Else, hopes the outcome of the public consultation over the fate of the nearby school is it remains in the hands of the Ipswich City Council.

The school building is protected by its heritage listing but the grounds and other buildings are not.

Some of the trees are heritage listed also, says Tom, as he considers the plantings which include hoop pines, crows ash and a Moreton Bay fig.

“The ones which were planted around the time the school opened in 1879, I believe are also heritage listed,” he says.

Tom and many of his neighbours are concerned that the facility may be leased to someone or some organisation whose presence could “threaten the lifestyle and pristine nature of the district”.

He commended the way in which the council has maintained the schoolground in the past.

“If Council continues to be responsible for the buildings and the land, I believe that’s the best solution – Council has an understanding of the district and how we value our history.”

That history is very familiar to Tom, too.

His great grandma, Mrs Rabe, was the first member of the family to call Tallegalla home.

“She was the innkeeper at the Farmer’s Inn. That building stood down the hill from the school.”

Today, its location is marked by the cutting in Tallegalla Road – the land where it stood was resumed when the road was upgraded.

“As kids, my brother Jack and I would find the odd coin where Mrs Rabe ran her inn.”

The next generation involved in the comings and goings of the Tallegalla community was Tom’s grandfather, Michael Goos.

“He grew sugarcane up here and used to sell it to the Marburg Sugar Mill.”

The next in the direct family line was Tom’s father, Cecil.

His value to the community was recognised in the naming of a road.

“When Tallegalla Road was upgraded, the route was moved to the west and a portion of the old road where we live was named Else Road after my father,” Tom explains.

Into the fourth generation, Tom recalls his early years of attendance at Tallegalla School were not happy ones.

Tom was left handed and as was the custom of the time, his teacher set about forcing him to become right handed.

“There were about 46 children at the school and our headmaster, Mr Volker, was the only teacher.”

Tom’s difficulty in changing from left handed to right handed meant he was often the victim of Mr Volker’s tendency to use the cane to ‘right the wrongs’ of the young student.

“Back then the cane was used on the boys and the girls but it was the boys who copped it most,” Tom says in his summing up of his former teacher as a cruel man.

But his voice brightens as he remembers the man who was his teacher for the last 18 months of his schooling life.

That teacher, Mr Monroe, taught Tom a love of learning.

Yet he attributes the trauma of his early schooling years and being forced to change from left handed to right handed with teaching him the resilience and capacity to adapt, which are much needed qualities of a farmer.

Tom, like his elder brother Jack, was 14 when he finished school and stayed home to work on the land.

Jack, who passed away about five years ago, wanted to be a doctor.

“But dad wouldn’t have it and told him he had to stay home and work on the farm,” says Tom, who knew at the time it would be expected of him, too.

And it was a good place to be on the land.

When Tom started his farming career, the Else’s owned 76 acres of rich volcanic soil.

“I remember dad saying that he paid for the building of his house from the money he made from one crop of tomatoes,” Tom laughs as he adds, “you couldn’t do that now.”

And he brings up another memory from those days … “I remember one time dad sold five bags of potatoes for £145 … that was a big money back then.”

And another memory … “Some of the timber from the Farmers Inn was used in the building of dad’s house”.

In time, the teenagers who were Jack and Tom Else grew into the men who bought their father’s 76 acres and would go on to acquire more land to bring the total up to 130 acres.

In 1965, Tom married a girl from Ipswich, Joyce Leonard. In time, they became the parents of two sons and a daughter.

And of course, those children were educated in their early years at the school just across the road from their home.

Their parents, as was the way, became involved in the school with Tom taking on the role of P&C president for a couple of years.

He talks with pride of the work of the volunteer group.

“At the school centenary in 1979, we raised $8,000, which the Education Department matched dollar-for-dollar.”

The P&C used $14,000 of that money to build a mini-tennis court in the school grounds.

“We didn’t have enough room for a full-size court.”

Another memory of the school is in the last year before it was closed due to a lack of numbers, it doubled as a church.

“When the Tallegalla Methodist Church was sold and removed, the congregation held their Services and their Sunday School in the school building.”

He has wonderful memories of when the school was used as the venue for dances.

And he laughs when he recalls that a time capsule was buried in the grounds around the time of the centenary, 46 years ago … “but no one is sure of exactly where it was buried, although our eldest son is pretty certain he knows where it is.”

In recalling the centenary celebrations, Tom reports that he was the one to fire two shots from his double-barrelled shotgun to mark the commencement of the proceedings.

“You fired a gun?” I ask.

“It was the tradition back in the history of the school and community … when events or celebrations were held at the school, someone would fire two shots to mark the start the proceedings.”

The schoolgrounds are located on the top of the hill, where you can gain magnificent 360 degree views.

“On a clear day, you can see as far as the New South Wales border.”

Those views are perhaps why Tom, when asked what he would like to see happen at the school if he was given the chance to make a wish, suggested it would be the perfect spot for a restaurant.

Tom will celebrate his 87th birthday this year and more importantly, he and Joyce will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary.

He plans to continue to farm the three acres he has under cultivation and has a ready market for his produce.

And he hopes that the ‘school across the road’ remains in the hands of the Council and perhaps be leased to a group or individual who understands the community values and the new use synchronises with the much-valued lifestyle of the district.